Perforated-music-sheet feed device.



PATENTED APR. 30, 1907.

H. K. SANDELL. PERFORATED MUSIC SHEET FEED DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED 00T.18 1906 HENRY K. SANDELL, OF CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MILLS NOVELTY COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

PERFORATED-MUSlO-SHEET FEED DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 30, 1907.

Application filed October 18,1906. Serial No. 339,572.

To (Li/Z whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY K. SANDELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Perforated\/l1rsic-Sl1eet Feed Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved construction of the mechanism for guidingly feeding the traveling perforated music-sheet in automatically-played musical instruments.

The primary object of the invention is to insure true feeding of the sheet across the transverse line, or plane, in the course of its travel, at which the playing of the particular instrument is produced through the perforations in the sheet registering with that line or plane.

In the accompanying drawing-Figure 1 is a sectional view showing the improved sheetfeeding mechanism in side elevation, with the removable guide-plate element partly broken away to display a detail; Fig. 2, a central longitudinal vertical section through the mechanism, and Fig.- 3, a broken and partly sectional plan view of one of the two feed-rollers showing its adjustable compressing spring at the end of the roller opposite that presented in Fig. 1.

The entire feed-mechanism may be supported in a suitable box 4, frame or the like, the top 5 and back 6 of which are employed to sustain parts hereinafter described. Similar brackets 8 and 9 depend at the proper distance apart from and form parts of the support 5 and carry on their inner sides, respec tively, the pivotal hangers 10 and 11, in which are journaled the ends of the feedroller proper 12, preferably rubb er-faced, and protected by a sheet-metal guard 13. The hanger 10 is shown extended to form a handle 14, and it carries rigidly a laterally extending finger provided on its free end with an outwardly projecting stud 16 to engage, for the purpose hereinafter explained, with a socket 17 in a lever 18 fulcrumed at one end on the bracket 8 and forming a catch. The pivotal support for the hangers is a rock-shaft 19 journaled at its ends in the two brackets and surrounded by a rotatable sleeve 20 carrymg on one end a pinion 21 and on its opposite end a drive-pulley 22 adapted to be geared to a suitable motor (not shown). The pinion meshes with a gear 23 on the adjacent end of the roller 12. From the shaft 19 extends an arm 24, which renders the hanger 1O practically a bell-crank, this arm having depending from its free end a rod 25 passing through a guide-bracket 26 on the wall 6 and surrounded by a spring 27 adjustably confined on the rod against the under side of the bracket, in which a set-screw 28 works for adjusting it with reference to the arm to regulate, for the purpose hereinafter explained, the extent of its depression under the force of the spring 27.

A roller 29 co-operates with the roller 12 to feed between them a perforated music-sheet, indicated at 30 in Fig. 2. This companion feed-roller 29 comprises, as its preferred construction, a stationary central rod or shaft 31 carrying rotatable flanged heads 32 and 33, respectively, near its ends, and central rotatable collars 34; and a transversely divided cylindrical shell forming the roller proper and consisting of the section 35, rigidly supported at its ends on the head 32 and one collar 34, and the section 36 similarly supported on the head 33 and the other collar 34 to ada t the two sections to rotate independently 0 each other. The end of the shaft 31 presented in Fig. 1 has its bearing in a recess 37 in the lower portion of a hanger 38 terminating in a handle 39 and pivotally suspended at 40 near its upper end, being yieldingly pressed against a stop 41 on the bracket 8 by a spring 42. twisted flat spring 43 is fastened at its upper end, at 44 and also at 40, to the bracket 8 and bears at its free, lower, end against the adjacent end of the shaft 31 to tend to press the roller 29 against the feed-roller 12, the latter being yieldingly. pressed against the roller 29 by the tension of the spring 27 under regulation of the pressure, according to requirement, by adjusting the screw 28. The tension of the spring 43 is regulated through the medium of a screw 45 supported to engage it in a suitable bearing 46 on the bracket 8. The opposite end of the shaft 31 is supported by a pin 47 passing horizontally through it and having its bearing in a perforated lug 48 on the bracket 9 and affording for that end of the shaft an abutment against which it is yieldingly pressed by a spring 49 confined about the pin between the shaft-end and a collar 50, behind which the pin is formed with a set-screw section 51 working in a bearing. 52 provided on the bracket 9.

A guide-table 53 for the traveling music- 1 sheet is provided to co-operate with the feedrollers and is adapted by its construction, hereinafter described, to exert tension 011 the sheet in opposition to the tension exerted upon it by the grip of the feed-rollers between which it passes for effecting its travel. I A guiding arm 54 for an edge of the sheet inclines downwardly from the bracket 9 and is formed with an inwardly projecting plateseating base-flange 55 provided near one end with a perforated lug 56 and at its opposite end with a lateral extension 57 describing a rightangle with the arm 54, at the junction with which it forms an offset to cause the extension to occupy a plane lower than that of the arm. The extension terminates at its free end in an apertured head 58, through which works a set-screw 59. A base-plate 60 is bolted near one edge-portion to bear against the inner side of the arm 54 through the lug 56 at 61, and lower down through the flange 55 at 62, and bears near its center upon the set-screw 59, the base-plate extending both downwardly and laterally beyond the extension 57 and being free along its left-hand edge. The set screw 59 is provided for straining the base-plate back into true or level position relative to the feed-rollers in the event of sagging toward its free lateral edge. /Vith the base-plate co-operates a topplate 63, shown in posltion, removably superimposed upon the inclined base-plate in Fig. 2 and represented in Fig. 1 as undergoing placing into position. The topplate is provided on the center of its upper side with a handle 64, by means of which to remove and replace it and on each edge it carries a I depending stud, like that presented at in Fig. 1, to enter a hole 66 provided to receive it in the edge-portion of the base-plate and I thereby guide the placing of and hold the top-plate properly upon the base-plate. An apron 67, extending from the lower end of the top-plate, guides the music-sheet bel tween the two plates, and an apron 68 on the l upper edge of the base-plate guides the sheet from between the plates across the roller 29. Rotation of the roller 12 at its drive-pulley 22, and its driving surface-contact with the l roller 29 under the pressure of the several springs, feeds the music-sheet between the even surfaces of the two plates 60 and 63, and the weight of the top-plate exerts a tension on the sheet tending to cause it to travel smoothly and evenly across the roller 29, which may be a contact-roller in an electrical circuit (not shown) from which to direct the current to electrical mechanism (not shown) for playing the instrument, by contact-teri minals, of which one is represented at 69 in Fig. 2, engaging with the surface of the roller l 29 through perforations in the sheet brought by its movement into registration with these terminals. The springs 27, 43 and 49 are 1 adapted, by the mechanism for the purpose shown and described, to be adjusted to a nicety to regulate the grip of the feed-rollers upon the music-sheet with reference to its inherent conditions of thickness, and the like, and to the tension exerted upon it by the topplate of the guide-table 53.

It will be observed that the relative positions of the rollers 29 and 12 is such as to cause the sheet to pass about a considerable portion of the roller nearest the guide-table in advance of their line of gripping-contact between which the sheet passes, whereby the sheet is, in a sense, wrap ')ed about the first roller. The frictional pressure exerted upon the sheet by the plate 63 in passing under it is always equally distributed throughout the surface of the sheet covered by it, so that no irregularity in the sheet, to affect the straightness of its travel, can occur while it is traversing the top-plate. Any tendency of the sheet to travel askew will occur in the space between the upper end of the guide-table and the roller 29 about which the sheet passes, because the sheet is there unsupported; such tendency being due to excess of strain exerted by the feed toward one side of the lon gitudinal center of the sheet, resultii'lg'l'rom slack in the sheet toward its opposite edge. \Vhenever that condition arises, the shorter side of the sheet will, for the instant, necessarily remain stationary because the attendant strain on the adjacent end of the roller 29 will attract that end, against the resistance of its spring, from contact with the roller 12, which will slip on that sheet-section, and it will so remain stationary until the slack on the other side of the sheet is taken up by the feed, after which the straight feeding of the sheet will proceed until another such slack occurs toward one edge or the otherthcreof. This function is enhanced by the sectional construction of the roller 29, by enabling its sections to rotate at differential speeds to correct inaccuracy in the travel of the sheet, as by the taut section of thelatter dragging upon and thus slowing one roller-section until the slack in the other part of the sheet is taken up by the freer and relatively faster rotating section of the roller. It is furthermore to be understood that neither spring pressing against the end of the roller 29 is alone sufficient to overcome the resistance of the tautening device, and that the adjustment or normal condition of the two springs is such as to render the force of both together just about sufficient to overcome that resistance. In other words, each spring is only sufficiently strong to pull one longitudinal half of the sheet, so of one spring is temporarily suspended, the other spring is just strong enough to take up the resultant slack in the sheet after which both springs co-operate to feed both halves of the sheet together. In the practical operthat when the action ation of the device, a slight stoppage is continually occurring in one edge'or the other of the sheet, requiring the described automatic I adjusting action to render true the feed of the sheet, which is thus kept, in a sense, bali anced against undue traveling.

hen it is desired to separate the feedrollers for removing or inserting between them a music-sheet, the handle 14 is manipulated to swing the roller 12 in the direction which will introduce the stud 16 into the socket 17 of the swinging lever 18, the weight 1 of which will cause it to act as a gravity catch, until released, to hold the roller, l against the returning tendency of the spring p 27, away from the roller 29.

. What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a perforated music-sheet feed-device, the combination of sheet-tautening means in the path of the sheet, and a pair of co-operating feed-rollers supported in advance of said tautening means and about one of which the sheet passes with a separate spring-pressure device on each end of the one of said rollers about which the sheet passes from said tautening means, for yieldingly engaging said roller with the other roller.

2. In a perforated music-sheet feed-device, the combination of a guide-table for the sheet provided with tautening-means therefor, and a pair of co-operating feed-rollers supported in advance of said table, and about one of which the sheet passes with a separate sprin gpressure device on each end of the one of said rollers about which the sheet passes from said tautening means, for yieldingly engaging said roller with the other roller.

3. In a perforated music-sheet feed-device, the combination of a guide-table for the sheet provided with tautening-means therefor, and a pair of co-operating feed-rollers supported 1 in advance of said table, and about one of which the sheet passes with a separate and independently adjustable spring-pressure device on each end. of the one of said rollers about which the sheet passes from said tautening means, for .yieldingly engaging said roller with the other roller.

4. In a perforated music-sheet feed-device, the combination of sheet-tautening means in the path of the sheet, and a pair of co-operating feed-rollers supported in advance of said tautening means, one of said rollers being formed in independently rotatable cylindrical sections and having a separate springpressure device on each end for yieldingly engaging said sectional roller with the other roller.

5. In a perforated music-sheet feed-device, the combination of a support having a pair of depending brackets, a feed-roller journaled on said brackets, a hanger pivoted on one bracket, a spring-pressed support on the other bracket, a roller having its bearings 011 l said hanger and said spring-pressed support and movable on said bearings back and forth relative to said feed-roller, and a spring on said hanger engaging the end of the roller supported thereon.

6. In a perforated music-sheet feed-device, the combination. of a support having a pair of depending brackets, a feed-roller journaled on said brackets, a roller consisting of a shaft and a sectional cylinder supported thereon, the sections being adapted to be rotated independently of each other, a spring-pressed hanger on one bracket in which one end of said shaft is movably supported, a spring bearing against said shaft-end, a set-screw supported on the other bracket and movably carrying the opposite end of said shaft, and a spring on said set-screw confined against the adjacent shaft-end.

7. In a perforated music-sheet feed-device, the combination of a support having a pair of depending brackets, a feed-roller journaled on said brackets, a roller consisting of a shaft having flanged heads on its end-portions and intermediate collars, and cylinder-sections mounted on said heads and collars to surround the shaft, a spring-pressed hanger pivotally supported on. one bracket and having a recess forming a bearing for one end of the shaft, a spring bearing against said shaft-end, a lug and a flange on the other bracket, a pin, movably supported at one end in said lug and passing through the opposite end of said shaft and. having a set-screw section working in said flange, and a spring confined on said pin against the adjacent shaft-end.

S. In a perforated music-sheet feed-device, the combination of a pair of co-operating feed-rollers adapted to feed. the sheet between them, and a sheet-guiding table supported behind said rollers, comprising a pair of plates between which to if 7 ed said sheet by the operation of the rollers, with the bottomplate supported in inclined position relative to the feed, and with the top-plate removably seated on the bottom-plate to bear upon and yieldingly hold by the pressure of its gravity the sheet when moving between the plates.

9. In a perforated music-sheet feed-device, the combination of a pair of co-operating feed-rollers adapted to feed the sheet between them, and a sheet-guiding table supported behind said rollers, comprising a pair of plates between which to feed said sheet by the operation. of the rollers, with the bottom plate supported in inclined position relative to the feed and provided with openings, and the top-plate removably seated on the bottom-plate to bear upon and yieldingly hold by the pressure of its gravity the sheet when moving between the plates and provided with guide-studs to enter said openings and with a handle.

10. In a perforated music-sheet feed-device, the combination of a pair of co-operat- 111g feed-rollers adapted to feed the slieet between them, and a sheet-guiding table comprising an angular inelinedly supported. llan 'ed arm and a )air ol' )lates between which to feed said sheet by the operation of the rollers, with the bottom-plate secured on said arm and the Lop-plate reinovably seated on said botton1plate and. provided With a IO handle and with guide-studs engaging the 

